Professor Mohsen Kadivar is a leading thinker on the place of Islam in political systems. He says the theocratic regime in his home country of Iran is having a secularising effect on Iranians, as opposed to Turkey where the secular government is creating feelings of religiosity amongst its population.

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A Monotheist :

1- Revolution take place not by choice but out of necessecities when the socioeconomic inrastructure is broken down. Otherwise, people don't wake up one morning and start a revolution for fun.

2- History has shown that reform comes as a result of general changes. Conversely, for as long as the dinosaurse rule the land no reform is realy possible. Now, there has been some exception such as the Soviet Union under Gorbachoves. But that happened because the empire had become increasingly costy. But as far as the Iranian Mollahs are concerned, this reform doesn't come without a generational change.

I personally prefer this change to come whithin the next 10 to twnty years because in this period the U.S too has to decide either to go the way of Gorbachoves or the way the other empires hade to hang up their boots. Otherwise, for as long as the U.S is around no real reform can take place in the Middle East -- look what happening with the Egyptians; or with the reform undergone by the Plastenians; for, the U.S. will meddle in other people affairs for its own geopolitical intersest.

But, as far as religion is concerned, the majourity of the world population will continue believing in God; so give up the wishfull thinking of elliminating God from the equasion -- it's not gonna happen -- for, god is real!look at the Soviet Union, or the Turk's secularism, etc; or at Egypt, the problem in egypt is caused by secularists not religion; the latest news from egypt says that the intrim government has installed 25 provential governers 19 of whom are generals some of whom have put guns at the heads of the protesters during the uprising of 2011!

Religion is not sharia laws; sharia laws, as your gest pointed out had been devised by some Muslim scholars over many centuries ago based on their own understanding of the religion; many of the interpretation or the part of sharia laws are in direct contradition with the Quran and the way the prophet lived his life. Unfortunately, the sunni scholars, mostly the sunnis, are still insisting on thos misunderstanding of the Quran.